First of all, I do give people credit for running for local office. A lot of people don't want to invest the time, and take the headaches and complaints from the residents.

But folks, if you are going to run for office, at least have some idea about what the job entails. Have some idea about the workings of your city. Have an idea about the issues.

Have some idea, period.

Too many of the candidates I have interviewed the last couple of weeks, for the purpose of editorial endorsements, had no clue.

Oh, there are many candidates who, thankfully, do take it seriously, and understand the responsibility that goes with asking for the public's vote.

There are too many others, however, who are simply unprepared, unqualified, or un-everything when it comes to holding public office. Yet some of them will be doing just that after Nov. 6.

In the last couple of weeks, as candidates have come into the Sun Sentinel offices to be interviewed for endorsements for municipal races, this is some of what I've encountered:

Candidates simply not showing up.

Candidates showing up late.

Candidates who say they forgot the date they were supposed to show up.

Candidates showing up after perhaps visiting a friend named Jack Daniels.

Candidates saying they are only running because they need a job.

Candidates who say nothing more meaningful or profound than "I want to get elected because I'm a people person," or "I'm a good listener."

Candidates who don't take the time to fill out their candidate questionairre.

Candidates who have no specific ideas. We're talking none.

There is more, much more, but I'll spare you the details. Suffice it to say, there were times after a full day of candidate interviews, when I needed to hurry home and watch "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo" or "Hillbilly Handfishin'" in order to hear something substantial.

It would be funny, except for one thing — it's not funny at all.

Voters — and candidates — should remember this: the people running for local city commissions have much more effect on the average person's daily life than the President of the United States.

The president isn't the one you go to to fix a pot hole, or to complain about a local noise ordinance, or to get a streetlight fixed, or a million other things.

And probably most importantly, the folks in your city whom you are voting for on Nov. 6 will be handling millions – yes, millions — of dollars of your tax money. They will be deciding what to do with that money, what kind of projects will be good for the city, how many cops to put on the street, what equipment should be added to the fire department, what the millage rate should be, things like that.

Yet too many of the candidates I interviewed seemed like they had no idea how to read a city budget. Some had no idea how to read anything more complicated than the weekly grocery list.

Like I said, this isn't a blanket criticism of all candidates. Many still want to do the job, and do it right, and understand the issues that are important to residents. And sometimes there are legitimate excuses for the things I mentioned above.

But too many candidates didn't realize that meeting with an editorial board is really a job interview, a way to convince the voters they are the right person for the job.

Would you show up 45 minutes late for a job interview, and then be totally unprepared about what the job entails when you finally do show up? If so, you are probably in the 47 percent that Mitt Romney thinks sit on the couch all day and watch soap operas while eating Kit Kat bars.

So again, before you vote, take time to learn a little about the candidates, and the important issues in your city.